James Carter, Tiana Notice's Killer, To Be Sentenced Friday

James Carter Jr., who chased down ex-girlfriend Tiana Notice on Valentine's Day 2009 and stabbed her to death, will be sentenced for her murder on Friday.

Carter, 31, of Bloomfield will face up to 65 years in prison when he appears in Superior Court in New Britain. The sentencing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

A jury found Carter guilty of murder and of violation of a restraining order Nov. 1 after two days of deliberations. The minimum prison term for murder is 25 years; the maximum is 60. The restraining order violation could bring 1-5 years in prison and/or a fine.

Alvin Notice, Tiana Notice's father, wants the maximum.

"He needs to spend the rest of his life as a ward of the state," said Notice, who has been working to fight domestic violence in Connecticut and in his home state of Massachusetts.

A busload of Tiana Notice's family and friends plans to attend the sentencing, said Notice's mother, Kathy Lewis. They have filled at least 45 of 55 seats on a bus, she said.

Lewis will be in one of them. She said she has prepared a statement for the court.

When Carter was found guilty, Lewis said, "I feel like it was the beginning of justice for Tiana."

The verdicts followed nine days of testimony, during which prosecutor Paul Rotiroti called more than 30 witnesses and showed the jury 96 exhibits. The evidence included a 911 tape in which Notice, who was 25, says, "My ex-boyfriend just stabbed me to death."

A surveillance camera captured Notice running from her attacker outside her Plainville apartment. Still frames show a figure that resembles Carter fleeing the scene.

Notice's blood was on Carter's pants, a forensic scientist testified. Carter's brother, Brandon, testified that Carter called him that night and said he had stabbed Notice.

In all, she had 18 separate injuries from the knife, the chief state medical examiner testified.

Public defender Christopher Eddy didn't deny that his client committed the crime, but told the jury that pressure over financial and other problems built up, causing Carter to snap on the night of the homicide.

Rotiroti counteracted that testimony by showing how Carter planned the crime. He took a knife and drove to Notice's Whiting Street apartment, the prosecutor said. He called two locksmith companies from his cellphone in an attempt to get in, but when that didn't work, he waited for her outside. He chased her down and stabbed her on a deck outside the apartment building, he said.